Colts DE Henry Anderson shed 15-20 pounds for new defense

As the Indianapolis Colts switch their defensive alignment to a four-man front, there will be plenty of changes made to accommodate the move, which includes shedding some weight for defensive end Henry Anderson.

Anderson has always been a big guy as he worked mostly on the interior in Chuck Pagano’s 3-4 alignment, playing at around 300 pounds.

However, with the Colts switching things up and prioritizing speed everywhere, including in the trenches, Anderson told the media Monday that he shed a substantial amount of weight to help with his quickness at the snap.

“Having three months where I can really just focus on trying to get stronger, faster, get my body fat down and all that kind of stuff definitely feels good,” Anderson said. “About 15-20 pounds lighter than I was. We switched the scheme up a little bit so I have to be a little bit quicker and faster.”

In Pagano’s defensive system, Anderson was given two-gap assignments, which could lead to a bit of a waiting game at the snap.

In the new system under Matt Eberflus, who is a disciple of Rod Marinelli in Dallas, the focus of the defensive line will be to attack as soon as the ball is snapped.

Anderson is a huge fan of the latter.

“It sounds like it’s a more attacking front. A lot more penetration and just getting upfield,” Anderson said. “As a defensive lineman, you love to hear that. You love disrupting plays in the backfield so I’m definitely pumped for it.”

After dropping the weight, it seems that Anderson will be used more on the edge in the new system, rather than on the interior like he was used under Pagano.

This will provide the Colts with some depth on the edge and Anderson could likely slide into the interior if need be. But he could see most of his time working off of the edge with the weight loss.

Anderson has a lot to prove to the Colts in the final year of his rookie contract and he’s hoping the weight loss in addition to the new defensive alignment will lead to success in 2018.

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